Sprint has officially announced a joint venture with Clearwire today where the two companies will create a nationwide wireless high-speed (WiMax) network. The venture is being backed by Comcast ($1.05 billion), Time Warner ($550 million), Google ($500 million) and Intel ($1 billion), to name a few, and Sprint is expected to own 51 percent of the new company. The new venture will go by the name Clearwire and is planning to reach 120-140 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2010.

I say it’s about time that this venture got off the ground. The idea of having a high-speed wireless network everywhere I go is incredibly compelling. Granted, I can have a Sprint or Verizon EVDO card, but that’s not the same as just being able to work ANYWHERE at high speeds.

There are some pretty deep pockets involved in this deal, which is exactly what it needs to succeed.